The invention disclosed herein pertains to improvements in flowmeters.
It is well known that there are a variety of preexisting flowmeters based on various principles of operation such as ultrasound technology and rotationally driven turbines or vanes. Existing flowmeters have been found to be satisfactory and accurate for metering the volume flow rate of a fluidic material that is flowing in a conduit at a fairly high velocity provided the material is of uniform density. There are installations where a material is flowing so slowly that existing flowmeters are incapable of metering the flow volume with acceptable accuracy. Turbine and vane type flowmeters are especially problematical when the flowing material contains solids that foul or block the turbine or vane. One example of where it is important to measure low flow rates with high precision is in plants that generate electricity based on utilization of nuclear energy. In some cases several feeder pipes or conduits feed or drain into a common sump where it is important to know the quantity of fluid material that is being fed to the sump from each of several sources. There many other situations where there is a need for an instrument that is capable of measuring the flow rate of materials flowing at low velocity.